RIA moves: Carson's merger machine adds $570M RIA in Ohio

Amid another active week in the RIA space, Carson Group has extended its Midwest reach again by welcoming a veteran advisor duo in Ohio, while newcomer RIA aggregator United Wealth Partners proves the appeal of its majority ownership model with another advisor pair in New York.

Carson welcomes Ohio-based Wells Tresaco Financial Group

Carson Group, which manages more than $48 billion in assets, has brought Akron, Ohio-based Wells Trecaso Financial Group onto its Carson Wealth platform.

The team, led by managing partners Douglas Wells and Ralph Trecaso, oversees about $570 million in assets.

According to their respective advisor disclosure records with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wells and Trecaso previously worked in the wirehouse environment at UBS, Citi, and Morgan Stanley before launching their independent RIA in 2017.

Wells Trecaso’s move is the latest in a series of expansions for Carson, which now counts 31 wholly owned offices nationwide. The firm’s leadership says the partnership will provide the Akron team with access to advanced planning, tax, and investment resources, as well as mentorship for junior advisors and support for succession planning.

“Partnering with Carson allows us to continue our legacy, strengthen our business continuity plans and ensure that our clients’ children and grandchildren will be just as well-served in the future,” Wells said in a statement.

Trecaso added that the new affiliation “means more time with clients, more opportunities to recruit advisors and better tools to deliver advanced planning and investment strategies.”

Earlier this month, Carson expanded its leadership team by naming four new executives across private client services, advisor development, estate planning, and M&A. Among the hires are Heather Zack, formerly of Commonwealth Financial Network and Merrill Lynch, and Lisa VanArsdale, who co-founded Lakeview Wealth Management at LPL. 

Uniting Wealth Partners onboards advisor duo in New York

Meanwhile, Uniting Wealth Partners, a new RIA succession incubator launched earlier this year by former Envestnet executives Jay Hummel and John Phoenix, has welcomed Rick and Alecia Dougherty’s Rochester, New York-based team, which manages $235 million in assets.

The Doughertys cited UWP’s structure – which allows advisors to retain majority ownership of their practices while accessing operational support and resources – as a key factor in their decision. Rick Dougherty said the firm was drawn to UWP’s model “to maintain our independence while accessing the resources we need to expand our services and appeal to a potential buyer in the future.”

UWP is a newcomer to the RIA aggregator space, having launched just this past April. At that time, Hummel and Phoenix explained to InvestmentNews that its approach gives advisors a 60% stake in the firm, with the remainder held by Hummel and Phoenix’s consultancy, Wealth Advisor Growth Network.

Before joining UWP, the Doughertys were affiliated with Naviter, an Arkansas-based RIA, according to their advisor records with the SEC. Naviter launched just over five over years ago with support from a minority stake investment by WAGN, which it bought back in October last year.

UWP has secured up to $50 million in funding and aims to manage as much as $10 billion in assets within the next several years. Hummel said the platform is designed for advisors “who recognize the value of becoming their own aggregator, rather than losing out on margin to a third party.”